<p>I’ve been watching this thread and enjoying your search from afar…I LOVE salt boxes! Hope you can share some pics at some point!!! Good luck…!</p>
<p>It could not been this one, right?
[File:Ephraim</a> Hawley House 053109.JPG - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ephraim_Hawley_House_053109.JPG]File:Ephraim”>File:Ephraim Hawley House 053109.JPG - Wikipedia)</p>
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ephraim_Hawley_House_053109.JPG]File:Ephraim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ephraim_Hawley_House_053109.JPG%5DFile:Ephraim){kind=link}
<p>Lovely, indeed.</p>
<p>^^I think it is a modern saltbox, which can have all the advantages of an antique but none of the pesky problems. VeryHappy - Good luck with your offer! Can’t wait for the photos.</p>
<p>artloversplus, Sadly, no, that is not the house. The one we’re bidding on is not a true antique – it was built in the 1960s. </p>
<p>My sister looked at the 1926 Tudor we were considering and immediately thought, “Money pit!”</p>
<p>VH, make sure you are not buying a money pit. Better to review the inspection reports from the current owner first before making a bid, if they are available. You don’t want a house that goes on to the HG TV “Holmes on Homes” show. lol.</p>
<p>VH–hope the house works out. Can’t wait to see the pictures.</p>
<p>VH. Hope the new house works out!</p>
<p>Looking forward to hearing the details…and seeing pics. Did they accept your offer? I’m hoping it’s a “little” further north!</p>
<p>We haven’t gotten any counter yet. I only put the offer in with our realtor this morning, around 9:30 or so.</p>
<p>VH- Love it! The lot looks terrific. I can see why you say the kitchen needs updating, but the space looks large and open, so it’s a great foundation for a new kitchen. I like all the windows, too.</p>
<p>How’s your husband taking this? Is he still pining for the lake, or is he moving forward?</p>
<p>It’s so bright and cheery. The kitchen looks like a nice space…that will accommodate remodeling nicely. I love the setting and the lot.</p>
<p>Hope is all goes through without a hitch.</p>
<p>I think my mother had a similar kitchen floor in her house. In the 70’s. :D</p>
<p>Love the wood floors. Is the second floor all wood floors as well? Yard looks nice too.</p>
<p>Looks very promising!</p>
<p>Looking good, VH. The only thing in those pics that needs to be updated is the kitchen floor. You can lay some thing right over the linoleum.</p>
<p>Looks like a nice house, and the interior is very much a blank slate. Easy to put a nice new kitchen in that space!</p>
<p>Thank you all. </p>
<p>DH is, I think, getting over the lake/river/waterfront business. He has made me promise that we’ll put a hot tub with some awesome paving and patio work in the wonderful, flat backyard. Sure, whatever.</p>
<p>VeryHappy being her typical self, I have vast plans for the downstairs. I want to break through from the kitchen to the FR and create a great room. I want to move the “working” part of the kitchen to where the eat-in area is currently. (You can see in the kitchen photo that the eat-in part is underneath the faux Tiffany hanging lamp.) I also want to put sliding glass doors on the wall from the kitchen to the outside, to match the sliders in the FR.</p>
<p>There is, oddly enough, a bathroom to the right of the faux Tiffany lamp that serves as the bathroom to a potential bedroom attached to the kitchen. (It joins the garage to the rest of the house.) Because it’s a full bath, one can use that room as a BR; we plan to use it as an office. The bathroom is weird – it has two doors to enter it: one from the dining room and one from behind the eating area in the kitchen. (So basically maybe 10 steps from the downstairs BR/office.) I want to incorporate that space into the kitchen [and because there are water pipes there, I don’t anticipate too much difficulty relocating the working part of the kitchen] and, perhaps, create only a half bath.</p>
<p>And Yes, all of the upstairs is hardwood as well, just refinished.</p>
<p>It’s been 22 hours since we made our offer and not a peep. I may have low-balled it too much, in which case we will increase the offer today.</p>
<p>Edited to add: Thumper, it’s not farther north, I’m afraid. In fact, even though it’s in the suburb that starts with “Nor,” it’s about two or three miles more south than we are currently.</p>
<p>VH-
I’d wait to hear a response from the seller before changing your bid. Your realtor can check in with their realtor just to inquire as to the status without making any change in your bid. Sit tight. You dont want to risk having the purchase price to be higher than the appraisal, even if you don’t plan to finance the purchase. I know zillow isnt all that reliable, but you can use it to your advantage to justify your bid.</p>
<p>And if I were you I’d leave a full bath on the main. Especially as folks age, having a full bath on the main with potential for the bedroom to be used there as well is very helpful. When my DH broke his ankle we put a bed in his office (we’d just moved out the sofabed shortly before!) and he used the full bath on the main for several months. It was a lifesaver.</p>
<p>I think Jym raises a good point. For our retirement home, which hopefully won’t be too far off, depending on what our gov does, our one absolute requirement is a bedroom and bath on the first floor. You just never know.</p>
<p>I love it! Good basics - wood floors, lots of windows, large rooms --new fixtures, and other upgrades will really make it a “wow”! </p>
<p>Put a fountain near the hot tub and your husband can still have his waterside living. :)</p>
<p>VH,</p>
<p>Did you put in your offer a time frame that the seller needs to respond？ I would not increase my offer without at least hear from the agents verbally. I also will check out the wall that you are intended to remove is not a load bearing wall before starting your grand plan.</p>